Electric metering device



April 25, 1944- L c. TRUESDELL 25347526 ELECTRIC METERING DEVICE FiledJuly 9, 194s leowffasdg Patented Apr. 25, 1944 UNITED STAT-ES PATENTOFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in automatic coin operatedmetering devices voi the electrical type, adapted to control the use ofelectric current for various purposes during limited time periods, and`wherein the user may extend the metered service by depositing a coin inthe device.

More particularly, the invention relates to the form and arrangement of'coin receptacles adapted for interchangeable use in such devices, sothat `an enclosed coin receptacle may be bodily removed from the devicefor emptying and another similar 4receptacle be put in its place,

wherein the electrical `metering mechanism isv automatically renderedAinoperative whenever there is no ycoin receptacle `properly applied incoin receiving `relation Ato the device.

The principal'obj-ect'of the invention is `to provide a simple andleiicien't coin collecting mechanism 'oi the character indicated above,whereby coin vcollections from the metering 'device Jmay be facilitatedin'an economicaland-orderly manner by 'the luse or" a plurality 'ofinterchangeable lenclosed coin receptacles lconstructed 'in accordancewith my invention; 'The coins are not handled or counted when thereceptacle is removed -from 'the device. instead, Athe lfilled or.partly filled receptacles may be k'ta-ken to a central collectionstation for emptying Aand krcounting of the coins, while `va duplicateempty receptacle is placed in the metering 'device *to `maintain lthelatter 'in proper 4operating condition.

The 'invention may best 'be understoodby reference to the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Figure 1 is va transverse sectional view of ametering Idevice constructed in accordance with my invention; f

Figure 2 isa bottom view of the ldevice shown in Figure '1, :with par-tsbroken -away `tovs'hovv certain structural details;

Figure 3 is a rear view of the device shown 'in Figure '1, -with pa-rtsbroken away -to show details or construction 'of lthe coin controlmechanism and the coin receptacle associated therewith; and

Figure l4 is a rdetail Asection of -the 1coin receptacle Yremoved fromthe metering device.

'Referring to details Y'of the `embodimentof my invention illustrated inLthe drawing, I 'indicates a :casing fior housing ythe metering device,-said housing consisting o atopwall 2, side walls i3, 3, and rear wallvf, together 'with 4a `transparent partition 5 at the front of thecasing for 'viewing a metering indicator f5 oi Athe vtiming mechanism,

indicated'gen'erally 'at FI. Said tim-ing 'mechanism :may be ,ofanywellfknown .'form, such as fis used `commercially for providingelectrical current to electrical appliances, such as lighting devices,electric refrigerators, or the like. The casing is Aalso provided with abottom wall 4a, which may be detachable, as indicated.

In the form shown herein, the timing mechanism is electrically voperatedby a motor, `indicated generally at 8, and is provided with a mainservice switch ril, Whichis adapted, as usual, Vto be cut off after arotatingelement of the *time ing mechanism has been moved through apredetermined arc.

Details of construction Vof the timing mechanism need not be furtherdescribed, as it forms no part of the present invention, excepting topoint out the rotating shaft lII! forming part of the main rotatingmember thereof, which is adapted to be reset from time to time -by meansof a knob II at the rear of the casing I. Resetting of the shaft I0 iscontrolled by a coin controlled time setting means of any suitableconstruction.

In the form shown herein, said coin controlling means consists of arotating disk I5 xed on the shaft IU adjacent an upright partition I6within the casing I and enclosed within a housing Il at the rear of saidpartition. The disk I5 has a slot I8 formed in its periphery of suchsize as to receive a coin of predetermined size, such as a quarter, whensaid coin is dropped through a slot |59 in the upper wall 2 and aregistering slot 20 in the upper edge of the housing I'I which surroundssaid disk.

Suitable locking means are provided for restraining rotation of the diskI5 excepting when a coin is deposited in the recess I8 of the latter. Inthe form shown herein said locking means comprises a iiatspring 2`Ifixed to the rear Yface of the housing I`I and having a portion thereofadapted to project yieldingly through a recess 22 in the housing Il.Said spring is arranged so that its lateral margins or stops 23, 23 arenormally projected into the 'recess 'I8 of disk I5 when said recess isin coin receiving position, as indicated in Figure 3. Thus, when 4thereVis no coin in the recess "t8, the stops 23, 23 at opposite sides of thespring 2i Aform abutments vfor engaging the proximate side walls of the`slot yI8 and lock the disk against lrotation in 'either 5direction. Thearrangement is such, howeven'that when a coin is yinserted nin the 'slotI8., the spring 2I will be elevated, so that the stops v23, v23 will nolonger prevent rotation Aof the disk "I5.

As a further Aprecaution 'against rotation of the disk I5 unless arcoinis inserted in its slot I8,

I provide a pair of auxiliary springs 24, 24 substantially smaller thanthe spring 2I, but disposed at opposite sides of and spaced from thecoin insertion slot I9, so that the ends of the springs 24 will beengaged with a wall of the'slot I8 and prevent rotation of the disk I5unless a coin is inserted in the slot I8.

Immediately below the disk I and the housing I'I which encloses thesame, I provide means for supporting a detachable coin receptacle,indicated generally at 25. In the form shown herein, said receptacleconsists of a cylindrical cartridgelike container, which is fullyenclosed excepting for a slot 26 at its upper end and a removableclosure member 21 at its lower end.

The receiving slot 26 for the receptacle is arranged to register with anopening 28 formed in the lower periphery of the housing I'I so as topermit a coin to drop by gravity out of the slot I8 when the disk I5 isrotated, so as to bring the slot I8 in registering position with theopening 2 8 at the bottom of the housing I'I. l

`Means Yare provided for detachably mounting the receptacle in thecasing I in proper coin receiving relation to the coin controlled timesetting means heretofore described. In the form shown herein, thecylindrical receptacle 25 is provided with a iin 30 extendinglongitudinally along one side thereof Aand adapted to have slidableengagement in a slot 3| formed in the rear wall 4 of the Amain casing I.In addition, the partition member I5 is cut away, as indicated generallyat 33, to accommodate the receptacle 25, and a pair of arcuate guidemembers 34, 34

Y is. mounted along proximate margins of the receptacle 25 so as toprovidea guide to permit endwise insertion of the receptacle from thebottom of the casing'.v

Any suitable means may be provided for holding the receptacle in itsproper place in the casing. In theform shown, the bottom wall 4a isprovided with a laterally sliding removable portion 35, as shown inFigures 1 and 3, arranged so that when the sliding 'portion 35 isremoved rearwardly from the casing the receptacle 25 may then be bodilywithdrawn by dropping it through the bottom of the casing. lBeferririgfno vv more particularly to one of the principal features ofmyinvention, it will be observed lthat I also provide a switch member33,-which is arranged to be engageable by the coin receptacle u25. Saidswitch may be of any suitable type to be normally open excepting whenthe coin receptacle 25 vis inserted in its normal coin receivingposition in the casing. In the form shown herein, the switch 33 consistsof a device commercially referred to as a micro-switch and includes aspring pressed plunger 39, which is adapted to be engaged by the upperend of the receptacle 25 when the latter is moved upwardly into itsnormal coin receiving position, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. Thearrangement is such that thespring pressed plunger 35 will be raisedwhen engaged by the receptacle, so as to close the switch 38, but theswitch will be automatically opened whenever the receptacle is re-Vmoved from this position.

'The switch 3B is placed in the current supply line which serves thetiming mechanism and the main service switch 9, so that said timingmechanism will be rendered inoperative and current to'service switch 9will also be cut olf, whenever the coin receptacle 25 is removed fromits normal coin receiving position. In the form shown, the circuit.connections just described consist of a main line conductor 40 leadingto the switch 9, and thence through conductor 4I to the timing motor 8,thence through conductor 42 to switch 38 to a second main line conductor43. It will be understood, however, that the electrical connections maybe varied so that the main line switch 9 may control a relay for aseparate main line switch in a well known manner.

The operation of the mechanism above described is as follows: When it isdesired to remove the receptacle 25 for emptying, the entire receptaclemay be detached bodily from the casing by removing the sliding bottompartition 35 and then dropping the receptacle through the bottom Wall ofvsaid casing. By thus removing the receptacle, the timing mechanism andthe main supply switch will automatically be rendered inoperative untila receptacle is placed in coin receiving position. In practice, aplurality of duplicate coin receptacles is utilized, so that as soon asone receptacle is removed for emptying, another receptacle is insertedin its place.

One of the principal advantages in providing detachable coin receptaclesin accordance with my 4invention is to make it possible to transport thelled or partly filled receptacles to a central station, where they maybe emptied and the proceeds credited to the proper user.

The device is so arranged that the user himself may detach thereceptacle and take it to the counting station, thereby eliminating thenecessity of special collectors. Moreover, all handling and counting oithe rcoins is done at the central station by trained operators, insteadof at the time of removing the coin receptacle from each meteringdevice, thereby affording a more satisfactory check on the proceeds ofcollections.

It will therefore be understood that for the broad purposes abovestated, it is not necessary that the coin receptacles be completelysealed or locked, particularly when the user must transport thereceptacle to the central counting station, since in such cases the userhas custody of the receptacle until it is turned over directly to thereceiving station.

In some cases, however, it may be desirable to provide the receptacleswith a suitable lock, or at least with a simple sealing appliance, suchas a strip of paper, or the like, which may also be used as a means ofidentiiication of the subscriber or user who turns in the receptacle.

In the form shown herein, a closure device for the receptacle 25consists of the disk-like plug 21 threaded in the lower end of thereceptacle and provided with a plurality of unequally spaced recesses45, 45 in its lower face. These recesses are adapted to be engaged by asuitable tool (not shown) havingY a series of prongs adapted to registerwith the recesses 45, 45, so as to facilitate the unscrewing of theclosure member 21 from thereceptacle. l

I It will, of course, be understood, however, that other and morecomplicated locking devices may be provided if desired. Y

It iste be understood thatV I do not wish to be limited to the exactembodiment of the device shown, which is merely by way of illustrationand not limitation, as various other forms of the device will, ofcourse, be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit of the invention and scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a coin operated metering device for electriccurrents, including a service'` current supply line timing mechanism forcontrolling said current supply line, coin controlled time setting meansfor `said timing mechanism, an enclosed coin receptacle for receivingcoins from said time setting means, and switch means in said currentsupply line cooperatively movable by said coin receptacle to close saidcurrent supply line when the latter is in coin receiving relation withsaid coin control means, and adapted to cut oi the current supply whensaid coin receptacle is removed from its normal coin receiving position.

2. In combination with a coin operated metering device for electriccurrents, including a current supply line having a service switch,timing mechanism for controlling said switch, coin controlled timesetting means for said timing mechanism, and an enclosed coin receptaclefor receiving coins from said time setting means, and a second switch insaid current supply line, said second switch having a control membernormally in open position but engageable by said coin receptacle whenthe latter is in coin receiving relation with said coin control means toclose said second switch, whereby the current supply will be cut offwhen said coin receptacle is removed from its normal coin receivingposition.

3. In combination with a coin operated metering device for electriccurrents, including a current supply line having a service switch, anelectrically operated timing mechanism for controlling said switchhaving a motor driven from said current supply line, coin controlledtime setting means for said timing mechanism, and an enclosed coinreceptacle for receiving coins from said time setting means, and asecond switch in said current supply line, said second switch having a.control member normally in open position but engageable by said coinreceptacle when the latter is in coin receiving relation with said coincontrol means to close said second switch, Whereby the current supplywill be cut oi and said timing mechanism will be rendered inoperativewhen said coin receptacle is removed from its normal coin receivingposition.

LEONARD C. TRUESDELL.

